


Bad Taste

by KibaSin



Series: Past Time [48]
Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale, Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
Genre: Emotional, F/M, Light-Hearted
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-29
Updated: 2013-11-29
Packaged: 2018-01-03 00:15:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1063392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KibaSin/pseuds/KibaSin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They always said she had bad tastes, but she couldn't help but fall for a guy that would rather push her away than even listen to a word that fell from her lips.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bad Taste

_  
_**Disclaimer:** I do not own any material belonging to the respective owners of _Inuyasha_ or _Yu-Gi-Oh! GX_.

* * *

 

 _If they give you ruled paper, write the other way._   _ **–Juan Ram**_ _ **ó**_ _ **n Jiménez**_

* * *

Her old friends back home had always said that she had terrible taste in men, and she was beginning to see why. However, there was that small piece of her mind that demanded she do the opposite of what everyone else was doing, to prove them wrong in some fashion or form. After all, even though she had bad taste, there was some good in everyone, right?

She sighed slightly, knowing that her friends back home, before she was shipped off to Duel Academy, would most likely mutter amongst themselves about how her newest  _crush_  was completely, utterly  _wrong_  for her. Then they would most likely try to convince her to go out with some humble, simple guy, like Akitoki Hojo—as they had been doing for many years. She would then wave them off, saying that he wasn't that bad, he had his good points, and tell herself that she was not going to do as they asked her to—she would do the opposite.

However, there was also the fact that her friends had been a bunch of giggling girls who melted at a pretty face, and they would most likely do that around Manjyome before they found out how rude he could be. They would sigh and giggle about his gravity-defying hair, and how good he was at duel monsters even though they had absolutely no idea how to play it themselves. Not to mention the fact that they would probably continuously ask her things about him; about how well he kissed and what he gave her as gifts—he was not her boyfriend, he did  _neither_ , and she seriously doubted he  _would_ , but that was not the point.

Then, their romantic world would come crashing down when he told them to buzz off, and snapped at them to call him "Manjyome-san" instead of "Manjyome-kun" as they most likely would. Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi would then do a total one-eighty and tell her that he was the meanest, nastiest boy they had ever met, and she should forget about him. They would complain about his cold tone; the way he dressed in black constantly; the way he glared; hell, they would probably even begin to complain about the way he  _walked_. In truth, she would not even listen to a word they said, since she was not one to be controlled and she liked to be different in some manner or form.

Different was good sometimes, right?

She always thought so, since she had always tried to make friends with people who liked to glare at her a lot. Her mother had taught her that the labels good and bad were just labels, not actually people. There actions were what gave them those labels, and a lot of times a bit of patience and kindness could get them the label of good in one person's eyes. So, she had always been that way, which made her wonder how she had became friends with Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi—who constantly sent her letters, and demanded she write back—in the first place. Of course, that did not mean she was  _only_  friends with Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi, since she knew a lot of other people, like Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru, Bankotsu, Sango, Kagura, Kanna, and a bunch of others who were not the kindest to her at first.

Still, even all that did not change the fact that she  _did_  have bad taste. Not only did she seem to pick the prick most of the time—Inuyasha being a perfect example—but she seemed to pick a guy who had pervious ties. Of course, she was not blind to what went on around in Duel Academy, and she certainly was not blind to how people acted around others. Manjyome, since she had known him, seemed to have a soft spot for Asuka, while Asuka seemed to be trying to make Juudai realize she liked him, and Juudai seemed to have a soft spot for Asuka too. To be the one trying to capture another's attention while they were trying to catch another, though the feelings were returned, was a situation she knew all  _too_  well.

Another sigh passed her lips as she reached over to stroke her duel disk slightly. Now she just felt like a forth, unwanted wheel that was trying to subtly hint toward things, but was constantly ignored. Sure, she was always around them, since Juudai insisted on being her friend, which was great, and Asuka and the others soon followed, though Manjyome was the first to admit that he was not  _friends_  with any Slifer, even if he was one. Asuka had told her that story, even though Manjyome had protested it many times throughout the tale, and even now it made her smile.

A familiar presence conjured itself behind her, and she looked up to find the translucent image of her duel spirit staring down at her. Lady Assailant of Flames gave her a fierce look, but one filled with understanding, and gave a single gesture with her right hand, which stilled carried her sharpened weapon. The fire duel monster obviously wanted her to follow her heart, to take what she believed what was rightfully hers, but she knew that the duel spirit would not push her. Lady Assailant merely wished to help her step in the right direction, to show her fiery spirit outside of a duel, but she was not so sure if she should.

"Are you sure?" she asked the translucent monster.

Lady Assailant of Flames gave a single nod. The warrior woman then gave her another fierce glance, before reaching up with her left hand in order to pull a feather from her hair. " _To follow ones path,_ " the duel spirit said in a determined voice, " _one must follow ones heart_." She held out the feather to her, and watched as her duelist took it, before nodding again. It was what she believed, and she had handed down her wisdom whether she listened or not.

Holding the purple feather between her fingers, she turned it slowly. "You've never let me down before," she smiled, "so I will think about it. I promise."

The duel spirit's eyes glittered, before she allowed herself to disappear from view.

Once again the young duelist with bad tastes sighed, as she realized the translucent feather Lady Assailant had given her had disappeared as well. However, as she thought about it, knowing that she would take her duel spirit's advise to heart, she decided that she should not be sitting around thinking anymore. "Besides," she said to herself, "I need to get to Professor Chronos…" She froze while staring down at her watch, "Ten minutes!? Oh, no, I can't be late!"

* * *

"…and then I remove three cards from the top of my deck in order to activate Lady Assailant of Flames special effect, thus causing eight hundred points of direct damage to your life points," she said smugly. She removed the three cards, and watched as her opponent's life points dropped. "Your life points are at zero, you lose." She watched then as her three monsters, and her opponent's single one seemed to shatter to pieces, and their duel disks deactivated.

Her opponent clenched his hands and looked toward the ground dejected, "I lost…"

She blinked, before saying, "That's alright, you dueled very well! I'm sure that you'll get better in no time if you work some more with your magic and trap cards." She smiled, and then jogged away toward her friends, not realizing that the male she had dueled was blushing a bit around the ears from her encouragement.

Asuka was the first to meet her, "You did great, Kagome."

"Thanks," Kagome smiled. "I almost thought I was going to lose for a moment there, but then I drew Lady Assailant of Flames and I knew I was going to be alright."

Asuka smiled at how much Kagome loved her cards. It was so obvious, not to mention a few other things, though the girl seemed completely oblivious to those. Though, from what she knew, she would place the blame on her friends that were always discouraging her from going after certain  _things_. Asuka smiled secretively to herself when she noticed that Juudai had already gotten into a major conversation with Kagome on how she had used her trap cards—and Juudai once again expressed how much he would love to duel the brightly smiling girl.

However, with a calculated eye Asuka glanced over at Manjyome, noticing that he was once again scowling at how close Juudai was getting while speaking with Kagome. Of course, she knew that there was nothing to serious about that, but Manjyome's look was becoming darker by the second, and she knew that her suspicions had been correct. She had noticed right away when Kagome had showed interest, but it had been a bit harder to tell exactly how far Manjyome's feelings went until she had noticed him glaring heatedly at a  _lot_  of different boys that seemed to stare at Kagome as she walked from class to class. Just as he had been doing with the Ra Yellow Kagome had just dueled and defeated.

"Your duel was so awesome!" Juudai exclaimed again.

Manjyome seemed to twitch, "We get it already, Slifer Slacker!"

"Manjyome have you—" Kagome visibly flinched to herself.

"It's Manjyome-san," he snapped, but instantly shut his mouth and scowled at the floor. However, the former Obelisk refused to apologize as he crossed his arms and waited for her to continue.

"Have you forgotten that you're a Slifer Red?" Kagome asked. " _Again_?"

"Not for much longer," he snorted.

Kagome sighed, wondering once again why she had to have such bad taste in men. Why was it that  _she_  had to go for what many other women could shun away from? Why was she cursed to this fate? However, she had to admit that no matter how much he snapped, yelled or glared, he was still good looking, and his good qualities were hiding underneath the surface. Weren't they?  _They have to be,_  she sighed,  _he has to hide them somewhere_.

Asuka shook her head a bit. They were so obvious about it; it was almost down right  _adorable_. Though, it would be much better if they would realize it between themselves, rather than continuing with their friendship—she doubted that Manjyome even considered it that, however. The prince was stubborn to the bone, and Kagome was just oblivious to any type of romance that included her in the equation. It was obvious they needed a push in the right direction, though the question was what would push them in that direction?

"Right," Kagome said. She turned away from him, deciding that she did not wish to get him anymore riled up than he already was. "Um, shouldn't we be heading back to the dorm soon, Asuka? I mean, it is getting kind of late, and Professor Chronos expects us to be ready for that test tomorrow."

"Test?" Juudai asked. "What test?"

Sho, standing next to his old friend, sighed. "Oh, Juudai, the test that Professor Chronos told us about yesterday in class."

"There's a—a test?" he blinked. Then, he smiled, "Oh, well, I bet I'll pass it with flying colors!"

Kagome figured she should be the one to break the ice, "Juudai, it's a written test." She noticed that she had caught his attention easily, "On the  _notes_  we were supposed to take yesterday."

He seemed to freeze.

"Oh," Kagome sighed, "I'm sure that we could help you study before it gets too late. Couldn't we, Asuka?"

"Certainly," Asuka smiled.

Kagome smiled when she realized how much closer Juudai slid to Asuka's side. However, when she glanced over at Manjyome she noticed that he was scowling a bit deeper than usual, staring straight at the ace of the Slifer Red dorm. She did not allow her smile to slip, but she knew how he felt, since she had gone through it herself. However, she felt a bit sad that she was subtly trying to tamper in the feelings he already had, and wondered if Lady Assailant of Flames was  _wrong_  this one time.

Just this once, since her duel spirit had never been wrong before.

However, though she noticed that Juudai looked at her a bit when she felt the presence of Lady Assailant once more, she got no strange stares as she turned to look up at the fierce warrior woman. To most it probably seemed like she was staring up at the stars beginning to form in the sky already, but she stared deeply in the eyes of her duel spirit, wondering what new help she may give. After all, she had not been there when she had tried to get Inuyasha's notice, but she was sure that even then she would have known what to do.

" _To follow ones path_ ," the translucent warrior stated, " _one must follow ones heart._ "

Kagome frowned.

" _To love is a gift,_ " the spirit continued, " _not a burden. Follow your heart, and you shall find your one true path._ " Lady Assailant of Flames eyes seemed to burn into her duelist's soul for a moment, before the warrior gave a flick of her deadly weapon. Then, she allowed herself to disappear, knowing that somewhere her words would be understood, and somewhere they would be followed.

Softly, Kagome touched the deck now silent in her duel disk, and allowed her gaze to shift from the sky. Lady Assailant knew what she was talking about, she knew she did, but there was something about her words that held so many double meanings. True, following her heart could get her what she wanted, but  _what if_  Manjyome would be happier if he managed to catch Asuka's attention. There were so many things that could go wrong, she was just not sure if she should follow the words that the duel monster had stated so clearly, or simply ignore them this  _one_  time.

Suddenly, she felt very tired, wishing that she did not have to think about just how bad her taste in men was at the moment, or the words of the duel spirit. Sleep sounded like a miracle from heaven at that moment, but she knew that she still needed to help Juudai. After all, there was a definite 'yes' marked on the question of: did he not take the notes he needed for the test tomorrow? Just as there was a definite 'yes' marked on the fact that he had been sleeping during the lesson yesterday, and a 'yes' stamped onto the fact that Professor Chronos yelled his head off when he woke him.

Asuka sighed, "I could help Juudai while you get some sleep if you're tired, Kagome." She had noticed instantly how the other duelist's shoulders had slumped, and when Manjyome's glare softened a bit at the suggestion. There was no telling what was going through the prince's mind, but she doubted that it involved simply study time between two friends.

Kagome blushed at how obvious her tired form had been, and straightened a bit. "If you don't mind," she said.

"I'm sure I can handle it," Asuka replied. She eyed Manjyome once more, noticing that he had crossed his arms and was scowling off into the distance like normal. Once more she wondered if there was any possible way to get him to admit his feelings toward her fellow Obelisk without confronting him, but she knew that there was a high possibility of her needing to do just that. He was so stubborn at times; it was no wonder that this one time Kagome was not even picking up  _some_  of the signs he gave off.

"Thanks," Kagome smiled.

* * *

She pouted at the letter in her hand, wishing that the words on it would just disappear. She did not even want to know how Yuka had figured out that she was hiding something, let alone that she was thinking about a boy when she was writing her last letter to her. In fact, she did not even want to think about how much Yuka wanted to know about that boy, since her friend would most likely squeal and giggle about it with Eri and Ayumi, and then everyone else would find out. Then, Yuka and the others would be given so many lies and she would have to keep them straight, and she hated lying, until finally they got a slap in the face with reality when they found out she had slipped back into her  _problem_ , as they liked to dub it as.

Still, she had no doubt from Yuka's words that Eri and Ayumi already knew that she liked some boy. Of course, then Yuka just had to mention that she hoped it was some cute guy, someone who was really good at that "card game she was obsessed with", since she apparently did not need a boyfriend who got beat by her every time they played. Really, she wished that her friends would understand that to her it was more than a game, and she dueled, not played—though, in truth they were basically the same thing, but she hated thinking of it that way. Dueling, to her, was more important than simply  _playing_  a  _game_ … and dueling Manjyome was actually quite interesting.

Frowning at the thought, she realized that she had managed to get him to duel with her a few days ago and lost. Of course, losing was not that big of a deal since she liked simply the thrill of playing, but her friends words made her realize something else. Something that tore a small piece of her heart each time she thought about it—Manjyome had, once again, been glancing at Asuka as they had dueled. She had managed to have a polite conversation with him—well, as polite as she could get out of him—and thought that he was beginning to notice her feelings, no matter how small they seemed. Though, if she remembered correctly, his look had been rather displeased, but that could easily be explained by the fact that Juudai had been standing close by.

If only the stubborn Slifer, even if it was getting close to the dorm switch exam and he was sure to make Obelisk, would realize what she wanted him to realize. But, as her friends had always said, she had bad taste in men, and this time was no exception. Apparently, though, her taste was getting worse, since the stubborn prince was not even lowering his defenses an inch after all this time. She was sure that her friends would whine and complain about the same time, telling her over and over again that she needed to go for a quieter, easily read man, like Lamo Hojo. Her friends would find lots of faults in Manjyome once they realized his true nature, falling out of their lust-induced haze from simply looking at him.

In a way, she was almost glad that they were only able to communicate through mail because of the distance.

And, in a small way, she was slightly glad that Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi had not met Manjyome yet. Maybe, if she was able to break through his shell a little bit before they did, even if she had not managed to steer his gaze away from her friend, then maybe—just  _maybe —_ she would be able to make him be a  _little_  nicer to them. Just a little, that would be all she would ask for, since she would not care if he snapped at them if they got too irritating. Actually, she would somewhat anticipate the moment he would, since it would get them to scurry away and mutter about him in a corner, hopefully not dragging her away with them.

However, she knew there was only a small chance that they would ever meet him. Whether it was because he finally realized she liked him, even if it was probably only a stupid little crush, or because one of them managed to learn how to play duel monsters and got into Duel Academy. She doubted, especially at that moment, that either one was going to happen in the near future, which gave her plenty of time to prepare for if they ever did. Hopefully, and she was really counting on it, they  _never_  did, though, since she really did not feel like listening to them whine, before muttering about how it was her choice and she was odd for picking such terrible boys.

A breeze caught her attention as she turned her head, allowing her hair to flutter behind her in the increasing winds. For a moment she smiled, closed her eyes, and allowed her worry about her bad tastes and her friends wash away as she enjoyed the current silence. However, she knew that she would need to return to the Obelisk Dorm soon, having only come outside in order to read her letter—though she was still slightly surprised she had not gotten one from all of her friends. After the wind had died down, though, she opened her eyes and sighed, her worries and rotten judgement settling back down onto her shoulders.

With a small shake of her head, she returned her eyes to the letter from Yuka and reread a few of the lines. She would need to reply to them, but she was not quite sure what to tell. After all, if she managed to write the wrong thing, Yuka would instantly be able to tell that she had fallen back into her problem. Then she would receive a long lecture on what to do in order to get over the bad crush, as Yuka had dubbed them long ago, and she really did not wish to read that. In fact, she rather not even think about it, but knew that if she said even the smallest thing she would get one, only to not listen to it, and get another one when Yuka figured that out, too.

And then she would curse the never-ending cycle that Yuka would create.

"What are you doing?"

The demand caused her to jump slightly in response, and spin around on the bench she occupied. She thought for a moment that she might need to defend herself—though the thought probably only came from the constant need to glance over her shoulder that Sesshoumaru, Naraku, and a bunch of other people she knew managed to instill in her subconscious. However, she realized as she stared at the dark-haired male staring down at her that she knew him, she did not need to defend herself, and a small blush was beginning to form onto her cheeks.

"Ah," she bit her lip at the stupid sound. "I'm reading a letter one of my friends sent, that's all, Manjyome-san."

"Don't you realize how late it's getting?" Manjyome demanded, glaring a bit at her. "You could get sick or something…" his voice trailed off as he seemed to realize what he had said, and added, "Not that I care."

Kagome blinked, knowing from experience and the tense stance that he was lying to her. She smiled then, glad that she could at least get him to care about her in some way, though it really was not that big of a thing to him most likely. "Of course, I'll make sure to go inside soon if it matters so much to you," she said.

He looked almost like he had been slapped in the face, as he glowered at her. "I don't care!" he denied quickly.

"Right," Kagome said. "Forget I mentioned it." She glanced down at the letter in her hand when she noticed that his attention had moved onto it, and quickly folded it over so that he was not able to read any of the words. It was not her fault that she had accidentally written his name the last time she had written to Yuka, and Yuka instantly assumed that she liked him. However, the very thought that he might find that out so suddenly caused her to redden, and turn her face before he noticed. Afterward, she shot him a small glance. "What are you doing out here anyway, Manjyome-san? Shouldn't you be getting ready for bed at the Slifer Dorm?"

"I—" he stopped, and looked as if he was trying to come to a decision. "I was told to come out here."

"Oh?" she blinked in surprised. "By who?"

"That's none of your business," he snapped, and then clamped his mouth shut. His glare decreased as well, and he stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jacket. He fiddled lightly with the object there, and glanced at her again.

She scowled at his tone, and turned her head away. Then, after a small moment of thinking, she stood up and folded her letter in order to put it back into the bag she carried. After pulling the bag over her shoulder, she nodded in understanding, and said, "Alright. I need to get back to the Obelisk Dorm now anyway, since I need to be ready for tomorrow. Juudai wants to duel me after class, and I really should look over my cards to come up with a strategy he hasn't seen."

Manjyome stood there, watching her as she began to walk by him. Kagome did not think that he would do anything, from the way that he was scowling at the ground, but was surprised when his hand grabbed her upper arm. She gasped, almost allowing her instinct to hit him come into play, but managed to stop herself as he stopped her from moving any further from him. She watched him, as finally he pulled a box from his pocket and thrust it out to her.

"Asuka told me to give this to you," he muttered. He turned his gaze away from her, not wanting to watch her reaction as she opened that stupid little box. He had looked inside himself, and Asuka had told him that Kagome would like it. However, he was never quite sure with the crazy woman, since she constantly seemed to have a different emotion cradled in her hand.

Frowning, and feeling his fingers loosen around her arm, Kagome opened the small box. Inside was a single card, which seemed to shine in the remaining light that was cast down upon them by the sun. She frowned for a moment, and then realized that Asuka had told him to give it to her, which meant it was from her. The card, The Swords of Revealing Light, was one that she had told her friend that she wanted one day when she had asked a question that was fleeting from her head. "I'll make sure to thank Asuka then," Kagome finally said.

"What?" Manjyome asked. Asuka had said she would thank  _him_ , not  _her_! This was just another perfect example of how this girl managed to pull him through hoops. He hated to admit it, but he wanted her to sequel and thank him over and over again, no matter how much the sound hurt his ears or how much he had to endure of her possible hug.

"Well, Asuka told you to give it to me, so it's obviously from her," Kagome explained.

"But I wanted to give it to you!" Manjyome nearly shouted. He quickly looked away, glaring at the nearest tree for his slip up. He did not care how much he liked this girl, he did not want to make a fool of himself in front of her.

"You did?" she asked.

He nodded stiffly.

"But how did you know that I wanted this card?" Kagome asked in confusion.

He refused to answer, crossing his arms over his chest. However, he returned his gaze to her, and felt a slight satisfaction when he noticed her cheeks redden. He had not really believed Asuka when she had told him Kagome liked him, nor had he agreed that he liked her. The coloration of her cheeks caused his lips to twitch slightly, though, but he was not quite sure if it was because of the card or something else.

"Oh, thank you then, Manjyome-san," Kagome smiled. She smiled a little more when she noticed his smirk, and knew that her blush was tenderly petting his ego. At that very thought her face darkened a bit more, and her heart fluttered, while a small voice in her head squealed. She knew that her bad taste would most likely mean that any relationship they had not last very long, but she was positive that he knew of her feelings. And the best thing was that he probably felt something in return.

" _Follow your heart…_ " brushed against her mind. " _…Find your path…_ "

Manjyome frowned, though not from the words that came from her mouth, and kicked a small pebble in front of his foot. Then, glancing at her face once more, he said, "Meet me after class tomorrow."

Kagome watched as he turned and walked away very stiffly. She almost laughed at how tense his shoulders appeared underneath his black jacket, and how long his stride became, almost as if he was not willing to wait for her to reject him. However, even if she had bad taste, she would not reject his words, even if they somewhat seemed like a demand to her ears. Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi be damned, she was not about to let their silly words stop her from getting what she wanted, especially now that she was pretty certain that Manjyome liked her back.

In fact, she was happy she had  _bad taste_ , because she would not have liked him if she wanted someone similar to what her old friends wished for. She was fine the way she was, and she would accept Manjyome the way he was, and if they could not accept that, then they really would be labeled  _old_  friends. But, she was sure that after they complained they would finally come to understand that she was not going to do as they told her to.

- _Fin_


End file.
